After 12 weeks of training I knew I was ready. I woke up in a great mind set (with a natural dose of jitters). I had a goal and hoped I'd achieve it, but told myself it was about running and finishing strong - nothing else.

Last year I had to contend with a torrential downpour...this year warm-ish and muggy, but I just focused on the goal and refused to let that get to me!

I've found that every race I run I detest mile 1...I just need time to find my groove and low and behold by mile 2 I was in a good place - pace, mind set, breathing. Then he miles really went by quickly. Jenny was there cheering me on around 4.75 miles in and my mom was at mile 5. It was great to see friendly faces in the crowd as the heat began to wear me down(and get a new water bottle from my mom).

I adjusted my nutrition plan around mile 6.5 when I felt myself dehydrating in the heat. I caught it early and recovered without any effects. By mile 8 I knew I was doing it and really let myself just run and have fun.

In general it was just great to have a crowd this year! Last year it was so wet there were stretches where it was just wet and alone. You train and train alone, and there is something rewarding to hearing people cheer your name and say "you've got this."

Miles 9-11 were FAST. The caffeine in my Clif gel kicked in and I felt like I could just go and go and go. Of course...it began to rain around 10.5 miles in. I just laughed. It felt good to cool off, but clearly I need to do half marathons in the rain!

At mile 12 as we entered the zoo I just took off. I let whatever was left in my tank just power me through. As I approached the stadium I realized how hard I was pushing. But I didn't let up. I entered the stadium...saw mom in the stands and crossed that finish line with a HUGE smile on my face (and yes...in the rain!).

Since I completed the distance medley this year - 5k, 10k, and the half there were two medals waiting for me! Never been so proud to have that hardware around my neck.

Official time was 2:07:35. 14 minutes faster than last year!! 330/880 in my age division. 1324/3360 out of the female field. 3117/6331 overall. This brought my racing year to a close. 4 races. Tons of hard work, but so so so so worth it.